The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7119 to Japanese Patent Application No. H11-180187, filed Jun. 25, 1999, entitled xe2x80x9cSealing Container of A Waterproof Apparatusxe2x80x9d. The contents of that application are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sealing container assembly which is configured to hermetically contain a device therein. Further, the present invention relates to a sealing container and a method for sealing a device in the sealing container.
2. Description of the Background
The waterproof apparatus such as a non-contact type battery charger has a sealing container formed by welding, for example, by heating and pressing. Conventionally, this sealing container has a case and a sealing member made of the same material as the case. After the sealing member covers the case, the case and the sealing member are welded for forming the sealing container. If a connecting member such as a bushing which is made of a different material from the case and the sealing member is attached to the waterproof apparatus, the portion to which the connecting member is attached is not welded. Instead, glue or oil is used for filling the gap between the waterproof apparatus and the connecting member at the sealing interface.
Another conventional sealing container is disclosed in Japanese unexamined patent publication (kokai) No. H9-289001. The contents of this publication are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. According to this conventional technique, in a sealed type lead-acid battery, a protruding portion of an electrode and a barrel member of a lid made of different materials from each other are heated and welded. Then the welded portion is filled with a sealing material, which is hardened to form a sealing container.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a sealing container assembly which is configured to hermetically contain a device therein includes a case, a lid member, a connecting member and a melting member. The case has an opening and is configured to contain the device therein. The lid member is configured to be connected to the case by welding to close the opening of the case. The connecting member is configured to connect the device contained inside the case to an outside of the case and configured to be sandwiched between the case and the lid member. The melting member has a melting point lower than those of the case and the lid member and is configured to be melted to seal gaps between the connecting member and the case and between the connecting member and the lid member when the lid member is connected to the case by welding.
According to another aspect of the invention, a sealing container which hermetically contains a device therein includes a case, a lid member, a connecting member and a melting member. The case has an opening and contains the device therein. The lid member is connected to the case by welding to hermetically close the opening of the case. The connecting member connects the device contained inside the case to an outside of the case. The connecting member is sandwiched between the case and the lid member. The melting member seals gaps between the connecting member and the case and between the connecting member and the lid member by being melted when the lid member is connected to the case by welding. The melting member has a melting point lower than those of the case and the lid member.
Further, according to the other aspect of the invention, a method for sealing a device in a sealing container includes providing the device in a case. The device is connected to an outside of the case via a connecting member. The connecting member is provided to be sandwiched between the case and a lid member. The lid member is connected to the case by welding to close an opening of the case. A melting member is melted to seal gaps between the connecting member and the case and between the connecting member and the lid member when the lid member is connected to the case by welding. The melting member has a melting point lower than those of the case and the lid member.